A Newcomer Meets a Veteran: Macau Hou Chon Makes EASL Debut Against Taipei Fubon Braves

Where: SM Seaside Cebu Arena, Cebu, Philippines
When: Saturday, October 3, 2026, 4:00 P.M. HKT
Group: Group B
Team Records: Macau Hou Chon (0–0) / Taipei Fubon Braves (0–0)

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THE RUNDOWN

A new EASL season begins in Cebu, and the opening game brings together two teams entering the competition from very different starting points.

Macau SAR Champions Macau Hou Chon will play the first EASL game in club history, taking on a Taipei Fubon Braves side preparing for its third appearance in the competition.

For Hou Chon, October 3 represents the culmination of a rapid rise onto the regional stage. Founded in 2012, the club will now test itself against some of Asia’s leading professional clubs for the first time.

Fubon, meanwhile, knows this stage. One of Chinese Taipei basketball’s most successful clubs, the Braves won three consecutive P. LEAGUE+ championships from 2020–21 through 2022–23 and return for another shot at making their mark in EASL.

It creates an intriguing opening-night contrast: the unknown of a first-time challenger against the experience of an established regional competitor.

And with B.LEAGUE champions Nagasaki Velca and KBL champions Busan KCC Egis also waiting in Group B, both sides will know the importance of starting the season with a win.

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MACAU HOU CHON

For Hou Chon, this is bigger than simply the first game of a new season.

It is the club’s first game on the EASL stage and another milestone for Macau SAR basketball, which has become an increasingly important part of the competition over the past two seasons.

Club owner Jeff Chan has described qualification as an opportunity for Hou Chon’s players to represent Macau SAR internationally and compete alongside some of the region’s strongest teams.

That opportunity arrives immediately.

Fubon provides Hou Chon with an experienced first opponent, and how quickly the Macau champions adjust to the speed, size and physicality of regional competition will be one of the biggest questions of opening day.

There will be plenty of unknowns surrounding an EASL newcomer — and Hou Chon will hope to use exactly that to its advantage.

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TAIPEI FUBON BRAVES

If Hou Chon represents something new, Fubon enters Cebu carrying experience.

The Braves return for their third EASL campaign, tying the most appearances by a P. LEAGUE+ club, and arrive with a pedigree few teams in Chinese Taipei can match.

But this is also the beginning of a new era.

Braves veteran and Chinese Taipei legend Lin Chih-Chieh retired during the offseason, closing the book on one of the defining careers in the club’s history. At the same time, another longtime Braves figure, Tsai Wen-Cheng, has moved from the court to the sideline as Executive Coach.

The challenge for Fubon is therefore not simply to return to EASL, but to establish what the next version of the Braves will look like.

Their previous regional experience gives them an immediate advantage against a first-time opponent, but opening games have a way of producing surprises — particularly when facing a team with little EASL film to study.

For Fubon, Cebu offers the first opportunity to show that a new chapter can still produce familiar ambitions.

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SPOTLIGHT STORYLINE

‍Experience vs. The Unknown

How do you prepare for a team that has never played an EASL game?

That may be the most interesting question surrounding the first matchup of the 2026–27 season.

Fubon has been here before. The Braves understand the travel, physicality and different styles that come with regional competition. Hou Chon does not have that experience — but it also means Fubon has never seen them on this stage.

For Macau Hou Chon, there is little expectation and plenty to gain. A strong performance in Cebu would immediately announce that the Macau SAR champions are not simply here to participate.

For Fubon, the expectation is different. Their history and experience make them the more familiar name, but the Braves themselves are entering a period of transition following Lin Chih-Chieh’s retirement.

It makes the first game of the EASL season a fitting introduction to what lies ahead:

A new challenger. An established name beginning a new chapter. And the first chance to make a statement in a loaded Group B.

The 2026–27 EASL season starts here.

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The Newcomer vs. The Giant Slayer: Abra Weavers Make Historic EASL Debut Against Hong Kong Eastern

Where: SM Seaside Cebu Arena, Cebu, Philippines
When: Saturday, October 3, 2026, 7:00 P.M. HKT
Group: Group C
Team Records: Abra Weavers (0–0) / Hong Kong Eastern (0–0)

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THE RUNDOWN

The second game of EASL’s opening-night double-header brings together a newcomer with something to prove and one of the league’s most unpredictable returning teams — with history set to be made in Cebu.

Reigning MPBL champions Abra Weavers will become the first club from the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League to compete in EASL when they face Hong Kong Eastern at the brand-new SM Seaside Cebu Arena.

The occasion carries added significance for both Abra and Philippine basketball. Not only will the Weavers make their regional debut on home soil and in front of Filipino fans, the October 3 double-header will also mark the first professional basketball games ever played at SM Seaside Cebu Arena.

For Abra, it could hardly be a bigger stage on which to introduce itself to Asia.

The Weavers joined the MPBL in 2024, quickly established themselves among the league’s elite and captured the championship in just their second season. Now, backed by a Philippine crowd in Cebu, they will have their first opportunity to show how that domestic success translates against regional competition.

Waiting for them is an Eastern team that knows exactly what it takes to compete on this stage.

Hong Kong’s reigning champions return for their third consecutive EASL campaign after developing a reputation for punching above their weight against some of Asia’s biggest clubs.

It makes for a fascinating opening-night matchup: one of Philippine basketball’s fastest-rising teams, playing at home in its first-ever EASL game, against an experienced Eastern side that has learned never to be underestimated.

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ABRA WEAVERS

Abra’s first EASL game will be about more than making a debut.

The Weavers enter the competition as reigning MPBL champions and the first club from the league to compete on the EASL stage, carrying the MPBL banner into regional competition for the first time.

Their rise has been rapid.

After joining the MPBL in 2024, Abra needed only two seasons to reach the top, building a championship team capable of competing with the best the league had to offer.

Now comes an entirely different test.

EASL will put Abra against different styles of basketball from across the region, beginning with an experienced Eastern team before Group C brings meetings with Japan’s Ryukyu Golden Kings and Chinese Taipei’s Taoyuan Pauian Pilots.

But unlike most teams making their first step into international competition, Abra gets to make that step at home.

Thousands of Filipino basketball fans will have the opportunity to see the reigning MPBL champions represent their league on the Asian stage, giving the Weavers a potentially significant boost against an Eastern team accustomed to playing in hostile environments.

MPBL founder and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao has already highlighted the significance of the occasion, describing opening the EASL season in front of Filipino fans as the perfect way to introduce Abra to Asia.

The challenge is now to turn that home support into a winning start.

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HONG KONG EASTERN

Eastern may not always arrive as the biggest name on the floor.

That has rarely stopped them.

The reigning Hong Kong SAR champions return for their third consecutive EASL season after repeatedly proving capable of challenging some of the region’s strongest clubs.

Eastern went 3–3 in its debut EASL campaign in 2024–25, narrowly missing the postseason, before returning last season and collecting statement victories over Taipei Fubon Braves and Seoul SK Knights.

That experience could become particularly valuable in Cebu.

Eastern will enter an arena filled with Filipino fans eager to see their MPBL champions make history. Managing the emotion and atmosphere surrounding Abra’s debut will therefore be another part of the challenge.

But Eastern understands regional competition. They understand playing on the road. And they have repeatedly shown that reputation and opponent’s home-court advantage mean little once the ball goes up.

After two seasons of threatening the postseason without breaking through, the next challenge is clear: turn competitive performances and major wins into a sustained run toward March.

That journey begins in Cebu.

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SPOTLIGHT STORYLINE

Can Abra Turn Home-Court Energy Into a Statement?

There will be plenty of firsts on October 3.

• Abra’s first EASL game.
• The MPBL’s first representative on the EASL stage.
• And the first professional basketball games inside the brand-new SM Seaside Cebu Arena.

For Abra, that means their introduction to regional basketball will happen in front of the very fans they are representing.

That atmosphere could matter.

The Weavers will be stepping into unfamiliar territory against an opponent with two seasons of EASL experience, but they will do so surrounded by Filipino support and with an opportunity to immediately establish themselves as more than just newcomers.

Eastern represents the perfect first test. Hong Kong’s champions have spent the past two seasons building a reputation as one of EASL’s most difficult teams to predict, capable of beating established contenders and competing away from home.

Abra enters with no EASL history at all.

But on October 3, they get the chance to start writing it.

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